University of Tennessee Athletics
Morgan, Patterson and Pope to Attend SEC Career and Leadership Forum
June 05, 2026 | Football, General, Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Three members of the University of Tennessee athletics department are set to head to Dallas for the 2026 SEC Career and Leadership Forum.
Amorrow Morgan, Staisha Patterson and Kelsey Pope will represent the Volunteers at Hotel Crescent Court.
Each team in the league is sending one administrator and two assistant coaches to the event. The complete list of attendees can be found HERE.
The SEC Career and Leadership Forum aims to equip athletic administrators and coaches with skills, tools and strategies necessary to build a sustainable leadership pipeline throughout the SEC footprint. The program focuses on proactive planning for leadership succession in support of each individual SEC institution and the collective strength of professional talent within the Conference.
Professional development programming will support the cultivation of well-prepared leaders ready to step into roles as needed, while fostering a culture of professional growth and engagement.
Morgan is in his second year as an assistant coach on the Tennessee men's basketball staff. During his first campaign on Rocky Top, he aided the team to 25 victories, a 4-1 record versus AP top-11 foes and a spot in the Elite Eight.
The Memphis, Tennessee, native helped Ja'Kobi Gillespie earned First Team All-SEC accolades from the league's coaches and SEC Newcomer of the Year honors from the Associated Press. Additionally, Nate Ament was both a Second Team All-SEC pick and an SEC All-Freshman Team choice, while Felix Okpara garnered SEC All-Defensive Team recognition.
Morgan is a 13-year coaching veteran who has worked at the Division I, Division II and NAIA levels. He has prior experience at Cal, Loyola Chicago, South Alabama, Nicholls State, Henderson State (Ark.), Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and Illinois-Springfield. An accomplished player, Morgan was a two-time All-Big Sky designee at Idaho State, from which he graduated in 2012. He spent multiple years playing professional basketball overseas.
Patterson served as the assistant athletics director of live production & broadcast at Tennessee. A 2011 graduate of Tennessee, she has worked at her alma mater for over a decade, dating to March 2016. During that time, Patterson has been promoted multiple times, first to senior director of broadcasting in 2022 and again in 2024.
In her current role, Patterson oversees a best-in-class broadcasting unit that coordinates all digital and linear broadcasts at Tennessee. She has vast experience producing Tennessee baseball, men's and women's basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball games for air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and SEC Network+. Patterson also works collaboratively with Tennessee's heralded VFL Films staff.
Hailing from nearby Franklin, Tennessee, Patterson has two degrees from the UT system, as she earned a master's at UT Martin in 2021. She has previously served as a UT Promise Mentor and is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Before coming to Tennessee, Patterson worked as a producer at WYMT-TV, the local CBS affiliate in Hazard, Kentucky.
Pope enters his sixth season on Tennessee's football staff. He serves as the Vols' wide receivers coach and was promoted to pass game coordinator last December. The Vols have flourished under his watch, producing five NFL Draft picks and an SEC-best 34 individual 100-yard receiving games since his hiring.
Pope's tutelage was on full display in 2025 as the Vols boasted the best wide receiver trio in the nation in Chris Brazzell II, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews. Tennessee was the only team in the nation with three players each going over 800 yards receiving, and the trio generated an SEC-best nine 100-yard receiving games. For his efforts, Pope was named a finalist for the Football Scoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
A native of Sylacauga, Alabama, Pope earned his degree from Samford in 2014. He stared for the Bulldogs from 2010-13 and was a three-time All-SoCon selection at wide receiver, breaking the school's career receptions record.
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Amorrow Morgan, Staisha Patterson and Kelsey Pope will represent the Volunteers at Hotel Crescent Court.
Each team in the league is sending one administrator and two assistant coaches to the event. The complete list of attendees can be found HERE.
The SEC Career and Leadership Forum aims to equip athletic administrators and coaches with skills, tools and strategies necessary to build a sustainable leadership pipeline throughout the SEC footprint. The program focuses on proactive planning for leadership succession in support of each individual SEC institution and the collective strength of professional talent within the Conference.
Professional development programming will support the cultivation of well-prepared leaders ready to step into roles as needed, while fostering a culture of professional growth and engagement.
Morgan is in his second year as an assistant coach on the Tennessee men's basketball staff. During his first campaign on Rocky Top, he aided the team to 25 victories, a 4-1 record versus AP top-11 foes and a spot in the Elite Eight.
The Memphis, Tennessee, native helped Ja'Kobi Gillespie earned First Team All-SEC accolades from the league's coaches and SEC Newcomer of the Year honors from the Associated Press. Additionally, Nate Ament was both a Second Team All-SEC pick and an SEC All-Freshman Team choice, while Felix Okpara garnered SEC All-Defensive Team recognition.
Morgan is a 13-year coaching veteran who has worked at the Division I, Division II and NAIA levels. He has prior experience at Cal, Loyola Chicago, South Alabama, Nicholls State, Henderson State (Ark.), Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and Illinois-Springfield. An accomplished player, Morgan was a two-time All-Big Sky designee at Idaho State, from which he graduated in 2012. He spent multiple years playing professional basketball overseas.
Patterson served as the assistant athletics director of live production & broadcast at Tennessee. A 2011 graduate of Tennessee, she has worked at her alma mater for over a decade, dating to March 2016. During that time, Patterson has been promoted multiple times, first to senior director of broadcasting in 2022 and again in 2024.
In her current role, Patterson oversees a best-in-class broadcasting unit that coordinates all digital and linear broadcasts at Tennessee. She has vast experience producing Tennessee baseball, men's and women's basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball games for air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and SEC Network+. Patterson also works collaboratively with Tennessee's heralded VFL Films staff.
Hailing from nearby Franklin, Tennessee, Patterson has two degrees from the UT system, as she earned a master's at UT Martin in 2021. She has previously served as a UT Promise Mentor and is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Before coming to Tennessee, Patterson worked as a producer at WYMT-TV, the local CBS affiliate in Hazard, Kentucky.
Pope enters his sixth season on Tennessee's football staff. He serves as the Vols' wide receivers coach and was promoted to pass game coordinator last December. The Vols have flourished under his watch, producing five NFL Draft picks and an SEC-best 34 individual 100-yard receiving games since his hiring.
Pope's tutelage was on full display in 2025 as the Vols boasted the best wide receiver trio in the nation in Chris Brazzell II, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews. Tennessee was the only team in the nation with three players each going over 800 yards receiving, and the trio generated an SEC-best nine 100-yard receiving games. For his efforts, Pope was named a finalist for the Football Scoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
A native of Sylacauga, Alabama, Pope earned his degree from Samford in 2014. He stared for the Bulldogs from 2010-13 and was a three-time All-SoCon selection at wide receiver, breaking the school's career receptions record.
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